Basal body temperature is the temperature of your body at rest. Charting your basal will help to understand when you ovulate. Charting can also show when you are most fertile and how stable your cycle is. All this information is very helpful if trying to conceive.
1. Take your temperature first thing in the morning before you get up or speak! If possible do not even open your eyes! Leave your thermometer under the pillow so you could reach it easily.
2. Take your temperature same time each day! If it’s your day off (weekend) – set an alarm. Staying within 30 min either side of your average time is good.
2. Take your temperature after a minimum of 5 hours sleep (not 2 or 3!).
3. It doesn’t matter what thermometer you use, just do not change it during your cycle! If you use an electronic one wait 1-2 min after it beeps. You can also purchase a basal body temperature thermometer that records temperatures to the tenth of a degree for more accurate results.
4. You can take your temperature rectally, vaginally or orally (not preferable). Stay with the same method for the entire cycle.
5. Chart your cervical mucus changes starting from the day 10 of your menstrual cycle. Mark the day when your mucus changes: from 1 (no mucus) to 2 (white, thick and sticky) to 3 (clear, stretchy and slippery – consistency of raw egg white), then back to 2 and 1.
6. Start using ovulation tests from the day 10 of your menstrual cycle. Mark the day when the test line is darker then control line.
7. Mark important info like “stressful day”, “sickness”, “party late” in your chart. There are so many things that influence your basal temperature.
Some tips:
1. If you woke up 2 or 3 hours later then usual (the time you usually take your temperature) – skip this day.
2. If you woke up about 1 hour later then usual (the time you usually take your temperature) chart the temperature at 0.2F lower then the actual result.
3. If you went to bed late or had to wake up at night and didn’t have 5 straight hours of sleep – skip this day.
4. If you have to wake up about an hour earlier then usual (the time you usually take your temperature) – chart the temperature at 0.2F higher then the actual result.
5. If you fell asleep and forgot to remove the thermometer – skip this day.
One more advise – stay away from different fertility/infertility forums and chat rooms. Yes, you will learn a lot of new and sometimes useful information, but some women get addicted to this kind of sites.
Try not to think about it…just let it go… Don’t stress if you can’t get pregnant for a couple of months. Sometimes it takes up to a year for healthy couples to conceive!
Start taking prenatal vitamins, eat healthy, exercise and enjoy your life! And don’t forget to chart your basal body temperature every day.
If you are trying to conceive for more then one year or have some concerns (very unstable cycle, often anovulatory cycles, too high or too low temperatures)- consult your OB/GYN.
